Tight space, equipment shortages ahead, warns CMA CGM

THE Asia-Europe trade faces the prospect of tight space and equipment shortages during the upcoming peak season, warns French shipping group CMA CGM.

This comes as the carrier's senior vice president for Asia-Europe Nicolas Sartini described the cargo volumes experienced by shipping lines so far this year as "a little bit incredible," reports International Freighting Weekly.
He expected demand to remain strong over the next three months and predicted that vessel space "could be tight" in the third quarter.
"In terms of container availability, we are starting to see the impact of slow-steaming. It takes more time to bring back the equipment to Asia from Europe and the US, on any trade," said Mr Sartini.
"Because of the difficulty accessing credit, there was a lack of container orders in 2009 - also this year. Now the lines are faced with very strong demand and difficulty in getting equipment," he said.
He is also forecasting a rate correction in July when second-quarter rates expire and carriers start to implement peak season surcharges.
CMA CGM has announced a third-quarter rate increase on the Asia-Europe trade of US$250 per TEU and it will introduce a peak season surcharge of $200 per TEU with two weeks' notice, the report said